Sona Jobarteh
From Gambia
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About
Sona Jobarteh is the first female professional kora player to come from a griot family, in a tradition where the 21 string instrument was handed down strictly from father to son. She belongs to one of West Africa's five principal kora playing griot families, and her cousin is Toumani Diabaté. Born in London, she trained in Western classical music, then dug into the kora and griot repertoire, which she sings in Mandinka. Her music takes the tradition seriously rather than watering it down. She reinterprets it, mixing kora, balafon and djembe with electric guitar, bass and percussion. Her albums include Afro Acoustic Soul, Fasiya and Badinyaa Kumoo, the last with guests like Youssou N'Dour and Ballaké Sissoko. She also scored the documentary Motherland and even invented an instrument for it, the Nkoni, a cross between the kora and the Donso Ngoni. Away from the stage, she founded the Gambia Academy, a school teaching local culture alongside regular subjects.